Customer Reviews

The Victorian Nursery Companion: A Posy for Parents, a Keepsake for Baby

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I am only sorry that I discovered Ms Ban Breathnach's Victorian works after they were out-of-print. As a mother of 2 little children, this would have been a wonderful keepsake. I did read the book which I borrowed from the library and was sad to give it up! I had grand plans of giving this to all new mothers, only to have my hopes dashed. This book is so sweet and captured my heart. I always thought of Victorian children as being appreciated only when seen and not heard. Alas, the 1890's were not that different from the 1990's we have much in common with our great-grandmothers...something we may not even have known. The publisher needs to address the needs of the public and reprint this book.

If you are a new parent or about to become one, get a nice copy of this baby keepsake book if at all possible! If you like babies and have any inclination toward the Victorian Era, then this work is an absolute treasure. To be honest, I stumbled upon this work in a very large lot of books I purchased at auction and while sorting those books, ran across a copy. Of the dozens and dozens of "baby books" I have seen, scanned and dealt with over the years, this has to be the most charming by far.

The illustrations, which consist of reproductions of Victorian Era art, pictures, paintings, prints, actual photographs; all in color for the most part, are worth the price of the book. The text consists of wisdom and lore from the Victorian period concerning babies. It addresses the care, feeding, nurturing, and dress, furniture, home life, nursery, nursery maids, pets, the parental relationships with the child and so much more. Inserted among this wonderful information are poems, nursery rhymes, commentary on attitudes (there is a wonderful two paragraph mini-essay on Queen Victoria's influence, which was great, on baby care, dressing at attitudes).

Toys are addressed as well as pets. Relationships between siblings and mother and father abound. Now being a keepsake for babies, there are a number of pages devoting space to record your own child's progress, or for making notes of your own observations.

This is one baby book at that is a special treat and to be honest, it is just as interesting to read by those with no children as for those who have wee ones about.

If you can lay your hands on a copy of this one, snatch it up. It is a shame this one is no longer in print as it is one of the better, if not the best, this genre has to offer.

I truly wish I had had this one when our children were infants over 40 years ago. Like another reviewer here, I was struck with the fact that despite what we have been told, Victorian attitude toward children was not all that different from ours and times have really not changed all that much.